Rechargeable flashlight and battery charger

ABSTRACT

A rechargeable flashlight and charging assembly are provided in which the charger has a receptacle for vertically receiving a flashlight therein. The charger further has a second receptacle for holding an auxiliary battery, and a latch for securely holding the auxiliary battery in the second receptacle. The flashlight is formed to removably contain a battery assembly. A pivotal cover member of the flashlight provides access to the battery compartment and has a pair of conductors situated therein for connection to charging contacts within the charging receptacle.

BACKGROUND

Rechargeable flashlights are known in which a flashlight containing arechargeable battery is configured to connect with a battery charger forcharging the battery while it remains in the flashlight. Suchflashlights are particularly desirable for emergency workers who mustdepend upon having a readily available source of light at remotelocations. Although such flashlights are normally stored in a chargingassembly, the battery may become discharged through repeated or extendeduse if there has not been enough time to fully recharge the batterybetween uses. In such a situation, it is necessary to return theflashlight to the charger for sufficient time to recharge. During thisrecharging time, the flashlight is unavailable for use. Thus it would bedesirable to provide a rechargeable flashlight system in which anauxiliary battery is maintained in a charged condition so that thedischarged battery may be removed from the flashlight and replaced bythe auxiliary battery.

It would further be desirable for the auxiliary battery charger to beintegrated with the flashlight charger so that the flashlight, theflashlight charger, and the auxiliary battery charger are maintained ata single location. Since many emergency crews already possessrechargeable flashlights, it would be desirable to provide an auxiliarybattery assembly capable of being attached to an existing rechargeableflashlight system to provide for the ability to replace a dischargedbattery in such an existing rechargeable flashlight system.

Flashlights employed by emergency workers are often maintained aboardvehicles, and are used in hazardous locations. It is essential for arechargeable flashlight system to hold the flashlight securely, and forthe flashlight to be watertight and mechanically reliable.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided arechargeable flashlight system which provides a flashlight having arechargeable battery assembly, a flashlight charger for receiving theflashlight and charging the battery within the flashlight, and anauxiliary battery charger configured to be integrated with theflashlight charger for holding, charging, and maintaining the charge ofan auxiliary battery assembly compatible with the flashlight.

The flashlight comprises a body having a central cavity for holding arechargeable battery. The lower end of the body is closed by a covermember which opens to permit removal of the body. A pair of conductorsextends through the cover member for contact with the flashlightcharger, which recharges the battery when the flashlight is positionedin a receptacle in the flashlight charger. The lower end of the body isflared to mate with upward and inwardly extending walls of thereceptacle by abutment, to securely hold the flashlight in thereceptacle during charging.

An auxilliary battery charger is attached to the flashlight charger. Theauxilliary battery charger is formed to provide a receptacle forreceiving an auxilliary rechargeable battery. A latch mechanismconnected with the auxilliary battery charger holds the auxiliarybattery securely in the receptacle during charging.

The rechargeable battery comprises a case for holding rechargeablecells. Contacts are provided through the upper end of the case toprovide contact with connectors positioned in the upper end of theinterior of the body cavity. Contacts are also provided at the lower endof the case to connect with the rear cover member conductors of theflashlight when positioned therein, or with charging contacts positionedin the receptacle of the auxiliary battery charger.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rechargeable flashlight system;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rechargeable flashlight system ofFIG. 1, from the reverse perspective;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are respective front and side elevational views of theflashlight of the rechargeable flashlight system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the flashlight of the rechargeable flashlightsystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a bottom cover member of theflashlight;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the bottom cover member of the flashlight;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a flashlight charger and an auxiliarybatter charger of the rechargeable flashlight system of FIG. 1, shown ina disassembled condition;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the flashlight charger and the auxiliarybattery charger of FIG. 7 shown from the reverse perspective;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the auxiliary battery charger; and

FIG. 10 is a partial cutaway view of the flashlight showing a batteryassembly positioned therein in cross section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a flashlight 10, a flashlightcharger 12, and an auxiliary battery charger 14 holding an auxiliarybattery 16 in an assembled configuration. Each of these components isdescribed separately below.

The flashlight 10 is shown separated from the charger 12 in FIGS. 3A and3B. The flashlight comprises a head assembly 18 and a body 19 having acentral cavity therein for receiving a battery assembly. In the headassembly 18, a light bulb 20 is positioned at the center of a reflector22 which is held in a reflector housing 23. The reflector is positionedat an angle, preferably a right angle, to the central axis of theflashlight. A clip 13 is pivotally connected to the rear of theflashlight. A spring 15 is positioned between the body of the flashlightand the upper end of the clip, so that the lower end of the clip 13 isurged toward the body. The clip 13 and the angled configuration of theflashlight allows the flashlight to be attached to an article ofclothing of the user, such that light is projected in the forwarddirection when the flashlight is worn by the user. A switch 24 islocated on the head assembly 24 and is internally connected between thebulb 20 and a battery assembly to selectively connect the bulb with thebattery assembly.

The bottom portion of the body 19 of the flashlight 10 comprises aflared portion which provides a lip or rim extending outwardly about thebottom of the body 19 of the flashlight 10. As shown in FIG. 4, thebottom end of the flashlight 10 is closed by a bottom cover member 27.The bottom cover member 27 is attached to the body 19 by a hinge 28 atone side of the bottom cover member. The cover member 27 is held to thebody 19 at the other side thereof by a releasable clip 30 which ispivotally held by the cover member 27 to latch onto a latch member 32formed on the lower portion of the body 19 of the flashlight.

The cover member 27 has a pair of conductors 34a and 34b which extendthrough the cover member 27, as shown in FIG. 5, to provide exteriorcharging contacts on the external surface thereof and to conductelectricity to a pair or rear charging contacts located on the batteryassembly. The cover member 27 also has a vent hole 36 formed therein forventing gas from an internal check valve member 38 positioned in covermember 27. The valve member 38 is formed of a flexible material and isconfigured to have a central boss which is compressively held in a hole37 formed through the interior surface of the cover member 27. The valvemember has a widened concave skirt about one end of the boss which ispressed flush against the top end of a vent cavity formed in the covermember. As best seen in FIG. 6, several slits 41 are formed adjacent tothe hold 37 to provide a pathway for gas within the flashlight body toflow through the cover member 27 toward the skirt of the valve member.The concave skirt is flexible to allow gas to exit the flashlight body,but provides a seal against gas entering the flashlight body.

The cover member further has an outer rim 44 and sealing surface 44which extends into the flashlight body when the cover is in the closedposition. A groove is formed around the periphery of the sealingsurface, and an O-ring 40 is situated in the groove to provide a fluidtight seal between the cover member and the rear opening of the body ofthe flashlight. As can be seen in FIG. 2, when the flashlight is closed,the clip 30 swings upwardly from the cover member 27 to latch with aprojection 50 formed at the lower end of the flashlight body. The O-ringis compressed to form a fluid-tight seal between the cover member 27 andthe flashlight body when the clip 30 is engaged onto the latchingprojection 50.

The flashlight charger 12 is shown separated from the flashlight in FIG.7. The flashlight charger 12 comprises a body for housing chargingcircuitry, such as a transformer and a rectifier for converting AC to DCcurrent in applications where such conversion is desired. The upper wallportion 60 of the charger 12 extends upwardly and inwardly to mate withthe flared contour of the lower end of the flashlight, and forms areceptacle 62 for laterally receiving the lower end of the flashlight.The bottom surface of the receptacle 62 has a pair of spring-loadedcontacts, such as contact 64 shown in FIG. 7, which extend upwardlythrough the bottom surface of the receptacle to connect with theconductors extending through the bottom cover member of the flashlight.The bottom surface of the receptacle 62 has a lateral extent larger thanthe bottom surface of the flashlight, and has a spring-loaded latchmember 66 extending upwardly at the flashlight-receiving side of thereceptacle 62. As the flashlight is laterally inserted into thereceptacle 62, the latch member 66 is depressed by the bottom of theflashlight as it slides over the latch member 66 into the receptacle.When the flashlight is fully inserted into the receptacle, the latchmember 66 is again pushed upwardly by a spring mounting within thecharger 12 in order to secure the flashlight into the receptacle 62, ascan be seen in FIG. 2. In order to remove the flashlight from thereceptacle, the latch member 66 is depressed by the user to permit thebottom of the flashlight to slide over the latch member and out of thereceptacle.

Referring again to FIG. 7, the auxiliary battery charger 14 is shownseparated from the flashlight charger 12. The auxiliary battery charger14 has a mating surface 70 which is configured to conform with a rearsurface of the flashlight charger 12. To attach the auxiliary batterycharger 14 to the flashlight charger 12, a pair of openings 72 areformed in the rear surface of the flashlight charger 12 to receive apair of engaging members 74 connected to the mating surface 70 of theauxiliary battery charger 14. Prior to mechanical engagement of theauxiliary battery charger 14 and the flashlight charger 12, chargingcircuitry within the auxiliary battery charger 14 is connected inparallel with the charging circuitry of the flashlight charger 12 by apair of wires (not shown) which pass from the auxiliary battery charger14 into an existing connector via 76 in the rear of the flashlightcharger. The projections 74 are then inserted into the holes 72, and themating surface of the auxiliary charger may be further secured to theflashlight charger by adhesive. An electrical connector 78 is seatedwithin the rear end of the auxiliary battery charger 14 to provideelectrical connection to an external source of electricity, such as ACline current or a vehicular DC electrical system. It will be appreciatedthat the flashlight charger and the auxiliary battery charger may beconnected together as shown or, in alternative embodiments, may bemanufactured as an integrated unit.

The auxiliary battery charger 14 is shown in cross section in FIG. 9. Alatch member 80 is mounted in one side of the charger 14 by a pivot 83.A spring 84 is positioned between an interior surface of the charger 14and the upper end 81 of the latch member 80. The upper end 81 of thelatch member 80 extends to the exterior of the charger 14. The lower endof the latch member 81 has an engaging projection 82 formed thereon andextending into the receptacle for engagement with compatible notchformed in the battery assembly and discussed below. Pressing upon theupper end 81 of the latch member 80 compresses the spring and moves theengaging projection 82 out of the receptacle in order to permit removalof the battery assembly from the receptacle.

The battery assembly 82 is shown in FIG. 10 positioned within theflashlight 10. The battery assembly comprises a case or shell 84 havingan upper portion 84 and a lower portion 86 which are joined together tohouse several rechargeable cells 88a-d. A notch 85 is formed in thelower portion 86 of the case 82, 84, 86 for engagement with the latchingmember 80 of the auxiliary battery charger 14 when the battery assembly82 is inserted into the auxiliary battery charger 14. The rechargeablecells 88a-d are preferably cylindrical cells, which are arranged inrespective series pairs 88a-b and 88c-d. The series pairs 88a-b, 88c-dare physically positioned adjacent to each other within the case 84, 86in parallel, and are each wrapped in respective insulating paperboardjackets 90a and 90b which are secured to each other by an adhesive 92. Aconductor strip 94 is connected to the respective lower ends of theseries pairs 88a-b and 88c-d to connect all of the cells 88a-d togetherin electrical series such that respective negative and positive contacts96a and 96b are positioned at the upper end of the battery assembly 82.Openings 98a and 98b are formed in the upper end of the case 82 to allowelectrical contact between the contacts 96a and 96b and respectivespring conductors 100a and 100b, which are connected to the headassembly 18 of the flashlight 10 and which conduct electrical current tothe bulb 20.

The lower portion 86 or rear end member 86 of the case 82 has a circuitboard 102 positioned therein. A pair of springs 104a and 104b areelectrically connected to the circuit board 102 and extend outward fromthe bottom of the battery assembly 82 for engagement with the conductors34a, 34b positioned in the cover member 27 of the flashlight 10. It willbe appreciated that, in the assembled condition, the battery assembly 82is thus insulated from physical shock due to its positioning betweensprings 100a-b of the flashlight 10 at the upper end of the batteryassembly 82, and springs 104a-b of the battery assembly 82 at the lowerend thereof. A pair of conductors 105a and 105b are electricallyconnected with the springs 100a and 100b via the circuit board 102. Theconductors 105a and 105b extend within the case 82 to respectiveconnection points at the negative and positive contacts 96a and 96b ofthe series-connected cells 88a-d so that electrical current is conductedto the cells when the flashlight 10 is positioned in the flashlightcharger 12. When the battery assembly is removed from the flashlight andinserted into the auxiliary battery charger, the springs 100a and 100bconnect to a pair of contacts provided in the receptacle of theauxiliary battery charger in order to conduct electrical current fromthe auxiliary battery charger to the rechargeable cells.

1. A charging assembly for a rechargeable flashlight system, comprising:a body having a flashlight receptacle portion and an auxiliary batteryreceptacle portion; the flashlight receptacle portion having avertically and inwardly directed wall forming a receptacle for receivinga flashlight; a charging contact located in the receptacle of theflashlight receptacle portion; the battery receptacle portion having awell formed therein for receiving a rechargeable battery, and a latchfor holding the battery in the battery receptacle portion.
 2. Thecharging assembly of claim 1, wherein the flashlight receptacle portionis contoured to receive a lip portion of a terminal end portion of aflashlight, and wherein the flashlight receptacle portion has an openside for laterally receiving the lip portion of the flashlight.
 3. Thecharging assembly of claim 2 comprising a stop member located at theopen side of the flashlight receptacle portion for releasably holdingthe flashlight in the flashlight receptacle portion when the flashlightis received in the receptacle.
 4. A battery assembly for a rechargeableflashlight, comprising: cylindrical rechargeable cells arranged inparallel and electrically connected at a rear end in series to providerespective positive and negative contacts at a forward end of theassembly; a shell for holding the cells and having an opening in aforward end for exposing the contacts for connection with electricalcontacts positioned within a flashlight; a rear end member connectedwith the shell and having a pair of charging contacts located on therear exterior thereof; a circuit board disposed within the rear endmember for supporting the pair of charging contacts; and a pair ofconductors within the shell for electrically connecting the chargingcontacts with the respective positive and negative contacts of thecells.
 5. The battery assembly of claim 4 wherein the charging contactson the rear end member comprise springs extending rearwardly from theshell.
 6. A flashlight, comprising: a head assembly having a light bulband a pair of rearwardly extending springs for conducting electricity tothe light bulb; a body extending rearwardly from the head assembly andhaving a central cavity for receiving a battery; a rear cover memberattached to the rear end of the body by a hinge, the rear cover memberhaving a pair of conductors for conducting electricity through the rearcover member from a charger.
 7. The flashlight of claim 6 wherein therear cover member comprises a latch member for releasably holding therear cover member in a closed position at the rear end of theflashlight.
 8. The flashlight of claim 7 wherein the latch membercomprises a clip attached by a hinge to a free end of the rear covermember for engagement with a clip receiving portion formed on the bodyof the flashlight.
 9. The flashlight of claim 7 comprising a sealingmember located between the rear cover member and the rear end of theflashlight for providing a fluid seal between the rear cover and thecentral cavity of the flashlight.
 10. The flashlight of claim 9 whereinthe rear cover member comprises a vent assembly therein for providing aone-way vent between the central cavity and the exterior of theflashlight.
 11. The flashlight of claim 6 wherein the body comprises arear portion having an outwardly extending lip for engaging with aninwardly extending wall of a charging receptacle.
 12. The batteryassembly of claim 5 wherein the pair of conductors within the shell areelectrically connected to the springs extending rearwardly from theshell via the circuit board.
 13. The battery assembly of claim 4 whereinthe pair of conductors within the shell are electrically connected tothe pair of charging contacts via the circuit board.
 14. The batteryassembly of claim 4 wherein the rear end member has a notch forengagement with a latching member of a battery charger when the batteryassembly inserted into the battery charger.
 15. The battery assembly ofclaim 4 wherein the cylindrical rechargeable cells are arranged asrespective series pairs physically positioned adjacent to each other.16. The battery assembly of claim 15 wherein each respective series pairis wrapped in an insulating jacket.
 17. The battery assembly of claim 16wherein the insulating jackets of the respective series pairs arepaperboard and are secured to each other by adhesive.
 18. The batteryassembly of claim 4 wherein: the pair of charging contacts arepositioned to make contact with charging contacts of a battery chargerwhen the battery assembly is inserted into the battery charger; or thepair of charging contacts are positioned to make contact with conductorsof a flashlight when the battery assembly is in the flashlight and theconductors of the flashlight make contact with charging contacts of abattery charger when the flashlight is inserted into the batterycharger; or the pair of charging contacts are positioned to make contactwith charging contacts of a battery charger when the battery assembly isinserted into the battery charger and to make contact with conductors ofa flashlight when the battery assembly is in the flashlight and theconductors of the flashlight make contact with charging contacts of abattery charger when the flashlight is inserted into the batterycharger.
 19. A battery assembly for a rechargeable flashlight,comprising: a case including an upper portion and a lower portion tohouse a plurality of rechargeable cells; a plurality of rechargeablecells positioned adjacent each other in the case and electricallyconnected to together in electrical series to provide respectivepositive and negative contacts at a forward end of the case forconnecting with electrical contacts within a flashlight; the upperportion of the case having openings in a forward end thereof exposing apositive contact of one rechargeable cell and a negative contact ofanother rechargeable cell to provide the respective positive andnegative contacts at the forward end of the case for connecting withelectrical contacts within a flashlight; a conductor connected torespective adjacent ends of two adjacent ones of the plurality ofrechargeable cells wherein the plurality of rechargeable cells are allconnected together in electrical series within the case; the lowerportion of the case having a pair of charging contacts located at therear exterior thereof; a circuit board disposed in the lower portion ofthe case for supporting the pair of charging contacts; and a pair ofconductors within the case for electrically connecting the chargingcontacts with the respective positive and negative contacts of therechargeable cells via the circuit board.
 20. The battery assembly ofclaim 19 wherein the charging contacts on the lower portion of the casecomprise springs extending rearwardly from the case.
 21. The batteryassembly of claim 20 wherein the pair of conductors within the case areelectrically connected to the springs extending rearwardly from the casevia the circuit board.
 22. The battery assembly of claim 19 wherein thepair of conductors within the case are electrically connected to thepair of charging contacts via the circuit board.
 23. The batteryassembly of claim 19 wherein the lower portion of the case has a notchfor engagement with a latching member of a battery charger when thebattery assembly inserted into the battery charger.
 24. The batteryassembly of claim 19 wherein the cylindrical rechargeable cells arearranged as respective series pairs physically positioned adjacent toeach other.
 25. The battery assembly of claim 24 wherein each respectiveseries pair is wrapped in an insulating jacket.
 26. The battery assemblyof claim 25 wherein the insulating jackets of the respective seriespairs are paperboard and are secured to each other by adhesive.
 27. Thebattery assembly of claim 19 wherein: the pair of charging contacts arepositioned to make contact with charging contacts of a battery chargerwhen the battery assembly is inserted into the battery charger; or thepair of charging contacts are positioned to make contact with conductorsof a flashlight when the battery assembly is in the flashlight that makecontact with charging contacts of a battery charger when the flashlightis inserted into the battery charger; or the pair of charging contactsare positioned to make contact with charging contacts of a batterycharger when the battery assembly is inserted into the battery chargerand to make contact with conductors of a flashlight when the batteryassembly is in the flashlight that make contact with charging contactsof a battery charger when the flashlight is inserted into the batterycharger.